cover image The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool: A Celebration of the Grooviest People, Events, and Artifacts of the 1960s

The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool: A Celebration of the Grooviest People, Events, and Artifacts of the 1960s

Chris Strodder. Santa Monica Press, $24.95 (334pp) ISBN 978-1-59580-017-6

Aimed at baby boomers as well as their kids, author and Web designer Strodder (Stories Light and Dark) has provided more than 250 profiles of actors, musicians, writers, politicians, athletes and others who defined a decade. Using a light, humorous approach, complimented by hundreds of vintage photographs and trivia sidebars-including lists of Wimbledon champions, memorable TV theme songs and ""Record-Setting '60s Playmates""-each profile is divided up into subheads concerning career, love life and miscellany. Though he doesn't attempt analysis of people's lives or legacies (the darker moments of icons like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis get a sentence or two at best), and tracking down some names can be tricky (Kurt Vonnegut doesn't have an entry in the V's, but rather shares his with Joseph Heller), Strodder does an admirable job sharing professional and personal tales from just about everyone relevant to the storied decade.